Method of making window unit including diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating
View Patent ↗A method of making a coated article (e.g., window unit), and corresponding coated article are provided. A layer of or including diamond-like carbon (DLC) is formed on a glass substrate. Then, a protective layer is formed on the substrate over the DLC inclusive layer. During heat treatment (HT), the protective layer prevents the DLC inclusive layer from significantly burning off. Thereafter, the resulting coated glass substrate may be used as desired, it having been HT and including the protective DLC inclusive layer.
1. A method of making a coated article, the method comprising:
forming a layer comprising diamond-like carbon (DLC) so as to be supported by at least a glass substrate,
forming a layer comprising zirconium on the glass substrate over at least the layer comprising DLC,
forming a solar control multi-layer coating including at least one layer comprising silver (Ag) and/or nickel chrome (NiCr) and at least one dielectric layer so as to be supported by the glass substrate, so that the solar control multi-layer coating and the layer comprising DLC are formed on opposite sides of the glass substrate, wherein the glass substrate supporting each of the solar control multi-layer coating, the layer comprising DLC, and the layer comprising zirconium is adapted to be heat treated.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC is formed via an ion beam, and wherein carbon atoms thereof are subimplanted into the glass substrate via said ion beam.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising zirconium is at least partially formed on the glass substrate via sputtering.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC comprises amorphous DLC and has more sp 3 carbon-carbon bonds than sp 2 carbon-carbon bonds.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising DLC has an average hardness of at least 10 GPa.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising zirconium comprises a carbide of Zr.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer comprises zinc oxide.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said solar control multi-layer coating includes at least one layer comprising silver.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising heat treating the glass substrate supporting each of the solar control multi-layer coating, the layer comprising DLC, and the layer comprising zirconium.